This January, LML Director Professor Kathy Liddell moderated a roundtable discussion entitled ‘Data Citizenship: Who Owns Your Genome’ at the 2026 Festival of Genomics and Biodata in London. The Festival, one of the UK’s largest life sciences events, focusses on AI, biodata, diagnostics, drug discovery, women’s health, and genomic medicine.
The roundtable brought together scientists, bioethicists, academics, and members of the UK Biobank Participant Advisory Group to consider how genomic data is collected, used, and governed. The discussion focused on consent in long-term research, access to and sharing of data in the UK and internationally, and the continued under-representation of some populations in genomic datasets.
The panel explored the legal, ethical, and scientific challenges raised by large genomic databases, including ownership, equity, data citizenship, and genetic sovereignty. Audience participation was lively, with questions about whether genomic data can or should be owned and, if so, by whom and for what purposes.
“The audience had lots of good questions about ownership and property in genomic data. They were surprised to learn that nobody ‘owns’ it! English law has been reluctant to recognise property in raw data, including health and genomic data. However, control and accountability can still be achieved through other legal frameworks, such as data protection law, contract, and duties of care and confidentiality. This is exactly the sort of exchange that makes events like this so valuable.” Kathy said.